#also we can always plot this out with my rick too >:)

[somewhereincairparavel]

I think the reason Rick fumbled with writing Jason's abilities/personality is because he was too focused on Jason existing as Percy's rival to focus on Jason as an individual character. And the funniest thing is, in the end, Jason was not considered satisfactory rival to Percy by the fandom either, which is ironic since that was the whole point of his character.

Rick seemingly screwed up the whole rivalry thing because, though he wanted someone to challenge Percy's power, he didn't want that person (Jason) to be more powerful than Percy or more enjoyable than Percy either, in the fear that the audience might start enjoying Jason more.

When you write a rival, you have to make sure that the rival character has equally powerful personality and strength/abilities compared to the person that they're rivalled with.

But Rick? The way he wrote Jason was like a half done updo. He dumped all the cool power on Percy (like potentially implying that Percy has bloodbending,can control water inside of someone, making sure Percy wins ALMOST every fight (and i mean, almost, there is a very rare time Percy ever loses) while limiting his power with Jason in every way possible, making the stupid brick jokes to make sure Jason always passes out in a fight, the whole "I only get one lighting bolt a day from my father" (it's a dumbass logic too, Jason should've been able to summon that much power of lighting on his own, he does NOT need his dad for that shit c'mon now) like it's an obvious effort to make jason appear weaker. Rick did all of this while lazily trying to shoehorn Jason's achievements in the plot by implying it but not actually showing it, like a "yeah he did this cool shit once ig" which makes it less impressive compared to Percy's achievements, which is something we've actually witnessed firsthand. Rick intentionally never brought up or expanded upon Jason's achievements much. He only emphasized everyone's awe of him being the son of Jupiter, which made it seem like Jason had the 'big three child privilege' where people didn't give a fuck about his efforts but instead his position.

Alright Rick, don't give him power, but atleast give him a personality? Nope he isn't getting that either. Jason had the potential to make DARK jokes about his controlled millitary life in Rome, and explore his past. Like I badly wanted a passage of Jason getting his memories back in fragments, Rick could've added flashbacks of Jason's past in his pov in a way that he gets his memories back. Instead he went "yeah yeah jason got all his memories back, it's all good" like SHOW us that wtf?? sure let's make sure he's as stale as possible to the audience, we can't have anyone liking the underdog over Percy Jackson!

He also made sure that Jason had it super hard in life aswell but never emphasized it or gave him anything good compared to Percy.

Don't get me wrong, percy definitely had it rlly hard, but Atleast Rick made sure Percy had a loving mom and a stepdad, a loving girlfriend and a cute adorable sister that he could play and spend time with, he got to celebrate birthdays with Sally, he got to eat her tasty blue food, and he actually had an ambrosia taste. You mean to tell me that Jason's sister barely had time for him, that he hasn't had a single birthday and that ambrosia tastes like sawdust for him while you give the other members of the seven, delicious ambrosia taste? 😤

Jason Grace has gotten the worst life in his own story, he wasn't "powerful" enough for a child of Zeus, he was "boring" , nobody properly trusted him, he died painfully, he didn't have parents, he barely talked to his sister, he didn't have a childhood, he was abandoned to blood thirsty animals when he was TWO, he didn't have a birthday, he didn't have an ambrosia taste, his girlfriend dumped him, he never got to see his best friend before he died, and he is terribly hated by the fandom who are simply turning a blind eye to his struggles because "no Percy will always be better in every way" yeah. I could go on and on.

[whateverisbeautiful]

♥️Reveling in Richonne - TOWL

#43: The Good Life (1.05)

gif cred: @nerd4music

The vibes of this whole sequence are so good. The good life truly. 🤩And Say Yes has always been a comfort ep for me, so I love that this montage has such Say Yes energy and parallels. If ever I need a pick-me-up this tranquil series of clips from Richonne's road-trip home will lift my spirits every time. I love the way this montage depicts that in finding each other again, Richonne refound the best, most at peace parts of themselves 😌...

So after that teaser with Father Gabriel, we get our babies back on screen. And it hit me that Episode 5 is the first time there are even scenes that don't feature Rick and Michonne. In episodes 1-4 of TOWL, Rick, Michonne, or both are on screen in every single scene apart from that one episode 2 teaser. Which I was very much in support of this as a long-time card-carrying member of the Give-Richonne-More-Screentime ministry. 😊

After how excellent the plot, pacing, and dialogue were in episode 4, I will say that ep 5 & 6 are a bit clunkier in those areas to me. But one thing is for sure, the Richonne content in ep 5 & 6 is still solid gold.

While these last two eps are ranked lower than episodes 1-4 for me, the good moments in these last two episodes aren't just good, they're great and include some genuinely Top 10 worthy Richonne scenes. So we definitely have to break it all down.😇👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

The montage starts with that yellow truck turning the corner and then they just get right into the good vibes and romance as we see Richonne calmly driving.

I love that they use 'The Good Life' by Tony Bennett to set the mood. Rick and Michonne both just look so relaxed and happy and it’s super refreshing to see. 🥰

gif cred: @msanonships

After everything they’d gone through thus far it was so nice to arrive at a point where Rick and Michonne are back in sync and as connected as ever.

I love the way Rick seems so content and peaceful with his hand out the window. Michonne has that man feeling on top of the world again. 😋 And then it’s so sweet the way he looks over at Michonne and the way she smiles back at him while driving. All is well with their soul and mine. 😌

Then we get one of my favorite Richonne actions ever when Rick takes her hand and kisses it. 🥹 It’s perfect.

I love the lingering depth of this hand kiss and that it’s such an illustration of how much Rick loves and cherishes Michonne. It was another soul kiss. And you can just tell how much peace Michonne brings Rick. She’s like his medicine. The cure to his anxiety and to his life. 👌🏽

gif cred: @msanonships

Something I so appreciate about Richonne is how every moment like this feels like such an organic outpouring of love in their hearts. And it feels like it’s the exact thing they both needed. Like Rick is offering Michonne so much love with this hand kiss but you can tell it’s also for him too, because she brings him so much peace and happiness and calms any anxiety he might have about really being able to break away from the CRM this time and go home.

This might be the furthest Rick has got in terms of actually breaking free from the CRM and heading home. I know he knows it has everything to do with Michonne that they’re making it this far and actually going to get home this time because they can do anything together.

I appreciate how this hand kiss is just one of the many ways Rick’s romantic heart so naturally wants to show his love and that Michonne is so receptive to it. Like the way she looks at him while he kisses her hand. They really know how to make the love they have for each other leap off the screen. And I know she knows that her Rick is fully back by him doing this.

The song lyrics that play say “don’t try to fake romance” and truly this is just giving authentic romance. Richonne's hand kisses in Say Yes were always so incredibly sweet to me so I love that we have another precious one to add to the list.

I also love that now that Rick isn’t trying to shut Michonne out, he’s immediately back to loving on her every second. This is how Rick loves.

I appreciate that Rick and Michonne immediately started living out that sentiment to love on each other as hard as they can while they can. Loving on each other is what they're both so good at doing. And the way they love is beautiful. 🥹

gif cred: @coalfires

So then they pull up and find all those ramen packs because the universe loves them some Richonnne. And y’all, I adore that they are matching again. 😊 It’s another signature Richonne thing. And it's great how they aren’t just matching in the same general color - no they're basically both wearing the exact Pantone shade, honey. The best. 😋

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And Rick and Michonne are just at their all-time adorable when the noodles fall out of the trunk and they excitedly laugh and pick them up. Michonne looks like such a cutie when she holds up a pack and amusedly addresses their punny name “Tasteful Noods.”

gif cred: @perryabbott

And Rick looks like such a cutie laughing and just seeming happy to be there. I love that they always bring out such a smiley playful side of each other. 😊

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Another thing I love about TOWL whenever I think about it is how Rick and Michonne's journey of refinding each other was never rooted in questioning if they're still compatible as a couple. After nearly a decade spent apart, some characters who aren't soulmates could have easily changed too much and been unable to rekindle this type of comfortable passionate chemistry so quickly.

But while Richonne had to navigate the way their circumstances had impacted and altered them, they still always operated like they knew the other was their person and the love of their life. And now that they've risen from their ep 4 timeout stronger, they're so effortlessly back to being best friends & lovers.

That's part of why I love how passionately Richonne kisses in their episode 2 reunion scene because they didn't have to hesitate, wait, or wonder how the other felt about them after all these years. Without even needing to verbally confirm it, they immediately knew the love, chemistry, and connection they have was alive and as strong as ever.

But back to this heavenly episode 5 montage - We get a sweet moment of the two having dinner together and I’m just smiling from ear to ear yet again. 😁

I love how this montage moment really highlights how far Rick and Michonne have come in their journey since that season 4 moment beside a fire.

Also, in the TWD series finale when Rick and Michonne were both writing letters alone by a fire, I remember just feeling like I cannot wait for them to be side by side again and it was lovely to see that time finally come. 🙌🏽

During this dinner in front of the mural, they’re both looking out at something but I can never tell what exactly. And then Rick puts his arm around Michonne and I love that he looks over at her first, watching her taking in whatever they’re seeing like maybe another mural/painting or something idk. Either way, Michonne is clearly the true view to Rick. 🥰

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

And then Michonne turns to him with the sweetest smile as they share a kiss and I just love how warm this whole moment is. It's great how they take a moment to just smile at each other before having yet another kiss infused with passion. And the way they get lost in this kiss - equally addicted to each other. 😊 They’re so blissfully in their Richonne bubble and it’s great to see. 

gif cred: @lousolversons

As they drive along the scenic road they also come across a vending machine and I love how their movement is so synchronized as they look from the vending machine to a walker with a sword stuck in its neck. See how the universe always wants to provide the things Richonne needs? 😋

Also, what this episode really hammered home is that Richonne communicates with words pretty much for fun, because they’re entirely capable of having whole conversations by just looking at each other.

And in this moment they both immediately get the same idea at the same exact time to use the blade in that walker to hack through the vines covering the vending machine. And they’re so cute and determined as they go to take care of it.

Clearing out the vending machine was clearly a success as they cut to Richonne back in the car while Rick chugs a soda. And even the soda moment shows that he’s really released a lot of the stress he was carrying in the first four episodes and just seems so at home. And of course he seems at home because his home is right next to him looking beautiful while driving. 👌🏽

gif cred: @andy-clutterbuck

Also, you always know you’re truly comfortable with someone when even just sitting in silence together brings you peace and I felt that from them in these car clips.

Then this heavenly montage wants to make me teary by having Rick take out the phone with the image of Carl and just take a moment to appreciate it. Again, Rick loves his son so much. 🥲 I'll forever be moved by the love this father has for his boy.

It's heartwarming that Rick gets so much comfort from these images of his family. And it really is one of the greatest things Michonne’s ever done for him by giving him this drawing that brought his son's face back to him.

gif cred: @taiturner

I love that Michonne looks over at him and gets to again see how meaningful having this piece of Carl is for Rick. The way she looks from the phone to him, both those Grimes boys forever have her heart. 🥹

(And she knows soon Rick will get to meet the third Grimes boy, RJ. 🥲)

I think about the OG Richonne episode Clear when Michonne was behind the wheel as Rick sat silently beside her with a hand out the window. Now, years later they do the same, no longer strangers but soulmates.

The biggest difference between the two moments is Carl is right there with them in the back of the car in Clear, and now in TOWL he's with them through a phone portrait. 🥺

Carl would be so proud of Rick and Michonne for finding their way back to each other and finally going home together. 🥲

Also just looking at Rick and Michonne in this car heading home, y’all, we really made it. 😭 All those years without them and we really made it to a point where Rick and Michonne are back on a road trip home together and at peace. And so I just adore this whole opening sequence for perfectly painting the picture of their travels home and how in love they are at every turn.

gif cred: @ricksmarlene

Rick and Michonne looked so refreshed with vacation vibes as they finally got to just enjoy each other without the threat of the CRM nearby. Beyond here for it. 😇

Then, as they drive they come across a souvenir shop...and it’s there we get another one of my absolute favorite TOWL scenes. 👌🏽😌

[poppitron360]

After responding to @puzzled-pegasus’ ask about my lighthearted Leo hcs, I came up with a WHOLE BUNCH MORE so buckle up (these are mostly Valgrace)

1. Okay so I recently did a rewatch of all six Tinkerbell movies for this project I’m working on and for no other reason not just because they’re awesome and I KNOW FOR A FACT that Leo loves those movies (they’re a beloved classic in Cabin 9). The plot of the first movie is LITERALLY JUST “Hey making things is really cool and you don’t always need flashy nature powers to be useful and you should be proud of your gifts!!’ (The Tinker fairies are literally just Hephaestus kids with a green colour palette).

2. “Tinkerbell” is one of Jason’s nicknames for Leo. Leo pretends to hate it but he secretly loves it.

3. Jason started noticing that whenever Leo steals his hoodies the tags at the back always end up mysteriously being cut off. Leo hates them bc of sensory issues. Now, whenever Jason buys a hoodie, the first thing he does is cut the tag off so that Leo can wear it, too.

4. Leo once collected all the tags that he cut off his clothing and sewed them together to make a plushie and gave it to Jason to say thank you.

5. Gift-making is Leo’s love language. Jason’s love language is showing off those gifts.

6. “How to Train Your Dragon” is also one of Leo’s favourites, and he likes to curl up with Festus in Bunker 9 and watch all three movies plus the spin-off shows.

7. He references Vines CONSTANTLY. So does Piper. They like to watch compilations on YouTube and quote along to them. Jason is SO CONFUSED when they quote them out in public.

He’s just like “Why did you yell “LOOK AT ALL THOSE CHICKENS!!” When we passed by that field of geese earlier?”

And they respond with, in perfect unison- “Wouldn’t you like to know, Weather Boy?”

8. I feel like he’d be the typa guy who’s memorised the entire Bee Movie Script.

9. His favourite musical is “In The Heights” bc he knows all the Spanish and he also relates to Usnavi on a SPIRITUAL LEVEL.

10. One time he was a little too overenthusiastic doing the HOT TO GO dance and accidentally wacked Reyna in the face. They found her in the process of trying to tie him in a bag with a rabid dog to throw him in the lake.

11. *types text out in all caps* *deletes it and types in lower case* *thinks “ah, fuck it” and types it out in all caps again*

12. Carries around Uno Reverse cards in his pockets just in case. It’s actually gotten them out of some tough situations.

Monster: I’M GONNA KILL YOU!!

Leo *reaching into his tool belt*: ha!

Leo: UNO REVERSE!!

Leo: NOW WE’RE GONNA KILL YOU!!!

13. His favourite Taylor Swift song is “I can do it with a broken heart”

14. Kinda a genius at Puzzle games, videogames in general (in TLH he gets exited when he sees Beckendorf’s old bed had a gaming rig, and also canonically played Mario Party with Jason). He used to play those Lego Videogames as a kid. (He still does).

15. Also he’s the only person who can beat Annabeth at Chess. She gets SO MAD:

“It’s literally a war strategy game! How are you better than me?!”

“[Witty Chess Pun here], mi amiga.”

*Annabeth flips the board over*

16. I mean we all know that he plays with Lego, right? I like to think that’s how he designed the Argo II, by building it with Lego first.

17. Jason and Piper only find out that Leo’s real name is “Leonidas” AFTER he died. And now Jason would never get to tease him about it…

(I know Rick confirmed it wasn’t but I like it so I’m sticking with it)

18. He was actually very careful to not teach Hazel all the memes right away, and save a few for the perfect opportunity. After he told her about his plan to sacrifice himself, he goes up to her and says very solemnly “At my funeral, please- I want you to play my favourite song as you burn my shroud. It’s a beautiful song called “Never Gonna Give You Up” by a man called Rick Astley- it’s about strength and loyalty and devotion. I think if- if I don’t make it… it would be a fitting send-off.”

She falls for it SO easily, and Leo got to play a few tricks on his friends from beyond the grave.

19. I know his death was a serious matter, but you can’t tell me that Leo didn’t use it to mess with Frank and Hazel.

“Hey, Frank! Are you gonna finish that cookie?”

“Well, I was planning on-“

And then he gives him an “I’m about to die tomorrow” look and Frank just caves and gives him the cookie. Little does he know that Leo’s already scored two muffins and a chocolate bar from Hazel by pulling the exact same trick.

20. In a world where Jason survived, he also uses it to mess with him.

“Hey Leo, can you take out the trash?”

“Can’t you do it? I died to save you.”

21. When he turned 18, he actually got a “Hot stuff” tattoo just like the fake one he drew in MoA

[violettwrites]

Hi! Just read something you posted a few hours ago, and thing is I'm thinking I'm basically setting myself up for getting disappointed by just sending in this ask—not to say that I'm discrediting you writing- god no— but just the fact that this is a really big undertaking. Whatever, whatever, I'm rambling atp.

Uh I wanted to ask for a DBF!Farmer!Rick x reader fic. Where reader is barely nineteen,— most of this next part doesn't really hold any significance to the plot, but it would be nice to read— long, jet back hair, super dark brown eyes, cinnamon skin, reader also religiously wears sundresses as well as always having a cherry lollipop/popsicle in her mouth. And since her farm doesn't have horses, she decides to ask Rick for horse riding lessons! I don't want you'll do with this but god speed!

(the reference photo, just in case. Te he~)

riding lessons 🗡️ dbf!rick grimes

summary: reader wants to learn to ride horses, and her father’s best friend is the one she turns to.

author’s note: here you go nonnie ! apologies if you were after something different, but i hope you enjoy !

also just a little heads up for my readers, at this moment i don’t really write smut. i’m just not too confident with it at this moment, but as my writing progresses i’m sure it’ll be something i look into in the future. this is not directed at you either, nonnie ! i just never really brought it up and i’ve been meaning to 🫶🏻

warnings: age gap ig???

word count: 970

it was a busy saturday morning, and your father’s farm was alive with people travelling from all over for your father’s sale yard for the year. you were up early ( as per usual ), in your favourite sundress. you had a cherry lollipop in hand as you walked through the yard, looking for the older male you had fancied since you were old enough to understand what crushes were.

“hey, rick!” you called out once you spotted the attractive man, your voice slightly muffled by the cherry lollipop in your mouth. “can i talk to you for a minute?”

rick grimes, your dad’s best friend from high school, turned around to look at you, his forearms leaning against a fence as he watched the cattle being rounded up from the field, ready to be auctioned off. “mornin’, darlin’,” he nodded at you, his words making your heart flutter. he turned around to face you, hands moving to rest on his hips. “what can i do for ya?”

you took a deep breath, trying to steady the nervous excitement. “i was wondering if you could give me some horse riding lessons. i’ve always wanted to learn, but we don’t have any horses on our farm.”

rick’s eyes sparkled with interest, eyeing the way your sundress stopped mid thigh. “well, i’d be more than happy to help with that. the horses we have are gentle, and i’m sure they’d love to have you.”

a surge of relief and excitement washed over you. “really? that would be wonderful! I’ve only ever seen them from the fence,” you sighed, pulling the lollipop from your mouth.

“how about this afternoon? you come on over and i’ll show you the ropes.” he raised his eyebrow, his gaze lingered on you for a moment longer. “and who knows, maybe i’ll learn a thing or to on how you ride.” he smirked, making your heart jump.

you nodded quickly. “that would be amazing, thank you. i really appreciate it.” you grinned, lollipop going back into your mouth as you turned around, quickly making your way back to the house.

— — —

a few hours later, you made the trip to rick’s farm, eager. you were stood next to comet, a beautiful chestnut mare. rick had helped you through the basics of grooming and saddling, and now he was standing besides you, hand on your lower back as he explained the basics of mounting a horse.

“alright, ready to jump on?” he asked, moving to grab the rein as he looked at you. you nodded your head, moving to put your foot through the stirrup like rick had explained, pulling yourself onto the horse. you could feel rick’s free hand on the back of your thigh, steadying you.

once you were comfortably sat in the saddle, you looked down at him, his lips holding an encouraging smile. “look at you, you’re a natural already.” he chuckled, patting your thigh as he moved towards the front of comet, ready to lead her.

“alright, let’s do this.” you grinned down at him, feeling comfortable. rick nodded, clicking his tongue to get comet moving slowly and steadily.

“just relax and let comet guide you, okay? i’ve got you, but she’s a good horse. carl first learnt to ride on this old girl.” he hummed, smiling at you. “if you need anything, just let me know.”

rick walked alongside comet, offering pointers and encouragement. his gaze was appreciative, and you could feel the warmth of his eyes as he looked at you. “you’re doing great, darlin’,” he said, a playful grin on his face. “you know, i might start thinking about taking lessons from you if you keep this up.”

you laughed, a blush on your cheeks at the warmth of his words. “i’m glad you think so. i’ve always admired how you handle the horses. you make it look so easy.”

rick’s smile widened. “well, I’ve got to say, seeing you out here in that dress, it’s a pretty nice change of pace. makes me wish every day was a lesson with you.”

the flirtatious remark made your heart skip a beat. you tried to focus on guiding comet, but your thoughts kept drifting back to rick’s teasing comments. as you trotted around the paddock, the sun warm on your back, you caught glimpses of rick watching you with a twinkle in his eye.

by the end of the lesson, you were glowing with pride. rick patted comet affectionately, bringing her to a stop. he turned to you, his eyes soft and warm. “you’ve done real well today. keep practicing, and you might just become the best rider around here.”

you looked down at him, your heart full of joy. “thank you, rick. this has been amazing.”

rick tipped his hat with a grin, his eyes meeting yours in a way that made your stomach flutter. “anytime. i’m always here if you want more lessons. and who knows, maybe next time we’ll make it a little more... interesting.”

you blushed once again at his words, moving to get off comet, rick’s hands coming to your hips to help you down, the warmth of his hands on your skin made your stomach fill with butterflies.

once you had left the paddock with rick, the older male walking you back to your car, you offered him a smile before leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. you noticed his cheeks turn a light shade of pink as he opened your car door for you, smiling down at you as you slipped into your car.

“i’ll see you later, darlin’. i look forward to our little lessons.” he chuckled, closing the door for you, waving as you drove away. you couldn’t help but think of him on your drive home, excited for your future lessons together.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About The Owl House Pilot

Huh. Never thought I’d get to do this again, but oh well.

Salutations, random people on the internet! I’m an Ordinary Schmuck! I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

And, above all else, I LOVE talking about The Owl House. I have an entire masterpost dedicated to talking about every single episode of the show and I’m halfway through a six-part review discussing everything that I love about it (Part Four's coming when it’s done. Let’s say…late June. Early July at the latest). I figured that after I’d finished that whole deal, I wouldn’t have anything left to talk about when it came to this series. Then, out of nowhere, the show’s original pilot leaked online…Sort of. It’s just an animatic with the show’s original voice cast voicing MOST of the lines, but it’s very much the pilot episode. It’s just not a finished product and I won’t share a link because I don’t think it’s exactly…legal. BUT I will at least share my thoughts about it because, well…Look at my blog. The Owl House has become the BIG THING that I obsess over for a reason and I love that I got to see what’s basically an alternate version of the show that I love. What do I mean?

Well, a pilot is MUCH different from a first episode. Where the first episode is meant to sell the show to the audience, a pilot is meant to sell it to a STUDIO. It can happen at any point of the story or act as the show’s first episode. Just as long as it shows off the characters, concepts, and tone, a studio can look at it, greenlight it, and allow the show to continue, BUT with some extra notes. Sometimes, those notes can change the rest of the series where others can keep the pilot good enough to stay canon. Some best examples off the top of my head are the pilots for Regular Show and Rick and Morty. You can tell that not much changed from the pilots of those shows and what was initially pitched, but there are clear changes in tone, animation, and even personality. Skips sounds a little more illiterate and Benson being more informed of the consequences of something as simple as rock, paper, scissors in the Regular Show pilot and Rick is noticeably more reckless and unprepared for situations in the Rick and Morty pilot. Nothing is set in stone with a pilot episode, even the ones that are canon. For the case of The Owl House, it’s pilot is no exception. A lot of it is just the same as “A Lying Witch and A Warden” at least in terms of plot and themes, but there are so many changes that show off what the series COULD HAVE been instead of what it was. How different? Well, let’s go through it all.

But real quick, I’m not going to do the “Like/Dislike” format I’ve done for previous reviews. Instead, I’m going to look through this pilot, note the changes it has, and share my thoughts on them. There’s also going to be a few spoilers to what happens in this pilot, so if you haven’t checked it out then I suggest giving it a watch wherever you can find it. It really is interesting to get a peak into what’s basically an alternate version of my favorite show.

With that said, let’s get into it.

Some Things Stayed the Same: Like I said, it’s basically an altered version of “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” The plot is that Eda uses Luz to get King back his “crown of power,” with some bits and pieces carrying over. Certain jokes that must have been too funny to get rid of, specific lines of dialogue that hit just the right notes, and some aspects of the characters’ personalities being just the same, proving that they're already perfect the way they are. It’s the changes, however, that makes for something more interesting. For one…

There’s More of an Emphasis on Comedy: As much as I love The Owl House, I’ll always admit that humor isn't its strong suit. It CAN be funny, really funny. But the jokes don’t land as well as something as Gravity Falls or Amphibia. I can say that a part of that could be because Dana Terrace wanted a more serious show, and we definitely get a sense of how serious it could be later in the series. Here, in the pilot, it definitely seems like there was more of an attempt to make the show comedic. King’s crown isn’t in a warden’s cell held within a magical barrier that only a human can get through. It’s in a Principal’s high school, locked in a human locker that Eda and King treat as something devious. Amity’s friends aren’t preppy mean girls who seem like they could cause conflict to Luz and her friends. They’re characters used for jokes who are amazed by Luz standing up to Lilith. There’s less of an edge and more of a lean towards cutesy fun, waiting until the very end to reveal something heavy. To me, it makes the pilot feel MORE like a Gravity Falls clone than the final product. Because while Gravity Falls has its serious moments, it makes it clear that it was a comedy first, both in the pilot and final product. Any moment of heart or drama was overshadowed by one hilarious joke after the other. Now, “A Lying Witch and A Warden” had a lot of jokes too, but there were also these moments that hinted at something more. You have the oppressive looking prison, the grand beam of light hiding human collectibles, a crazy chase from a threatening looking warden. And yes, the reveal that Warden Wrath was trying to go out with Eda was hilarious, but a warden who tortures a prisoner for speaking her truth gives a hint of how dark this world can be. Meanwhile, a principal sending a student to demon detention feels more like a joke, exaggerating how strict some principals can be.

And keep in mind, I’m not complaining about the pilot leaning more towards comedy. I actually laughed a lot more with it than I did with “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” I’m just trying to explain how the tone is definitely going for something different than the full series. It might have that darker twist in the end, but even that is nothing more than a surprise. I'll get into why later, but while it has darker implications, it doesn't detract from the fun times to be had. Not by much. From what I can gather from the pilot, it’s definitely going for a series with goofy, fun adventures with a bit of heart to it. It’s just missing that personal touch that’s in The Owl House. One good example of how?

There’s Not Even a MENTION of Camila: Before you say anything, this has nothing to do with me being Camila’s number one fan, to the point where I almost made a side-blog dedicated to her (I really should get on that, though…)

I bring up this change because Camila grounds the story in “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” She draws Luz close to reality and is the first thing that comes to Luz’s mind when in real danger, saying, “If I die, my mom will kill me!” More than that, though, Camila is the one real connection Luz has to the human realm. She has no friends nor adventures, but Luz always has Camila, with even the first episode hinting that. So when Luz starts getting herself into trouble or choosing to lie and stay in the Boiling Isles, it lets the audience get ready for the inevitable drama that could unfold when Luz finally tells Camila everything. By removing Camila, though, the anticipation of Luz telling her mom goes away with her. At least, it tells ME that there’s less of a worry about Luz basically running away from home. Either this version of the show is holding off from that for a future episode or that Luz and Camila’s relationship isn’t close enough where it matters. This is speculation, of course, but I still stand by that a sense of something personal with Luz is lost for the sake of having fun and epic fantasy adventures with entertaining characters. It’s still good and entertaining, and the pilot does offer something else that’s personal, but it’s not the same as The Owl House we all fell in love with. Though, it’s notable that our main cast stayed the same.

Luz, Eda, and King: Overall, I’d say that these three, personality wise, didn’t change much. King’s probably the least altered, being the exact same character he was in Season One aside from MAYBE having a design change (It’s hard to tell through storyboards). As for Luz and Eda, they’re more or less the same. There’s a BIG change with Eda (That I’ll get to later), but her devil-may-care attitude is very much the same, as well as her snark and soft nature towards Luz and King. It’s her magic that gets the real boost, being able to do more like teleport across the Isles and turn into a…softer version of the Owl Beast at will. It’s pretty cool to see the power that this alternate Owl Lady has. And then there’s Luz, who’s still the lovable weirdo we all know. Though, this version seems a lot more dim and I’m not really a fan. How does she mistakenly give a book report in geometry class? How did it take seeing Amity’s witch ears to realize that she belonged in the demon realm? Luz had her dumb moments in the show too, but not to this extent. There was still a sense of maturity and cognitive understanding that made Luz feel like someone that seemed weird but intelligent enough to think herself out of a situation. This Luz seems more weird and focused on using brute force on a problem. In a way, it makes Pilot!Luz more of an…emotionally driven Star Butterfly. A fun and capable character, but not the same kind I had made several posts and reviews talking about how much I love/personally connected to her. But, comparatively, I guess it IS the most minor change that could be done to this character. Now let’s move onto BIGGER changes.

The Boiling Isles: The look and feel of the Isles remains the same, but the fact that it’s more connected to the Human Realm is intriguing. From what I can tell, the Demon Realm treats traveling to the Human Realm like it’s going to a new country. You visit, make some memories, and, for some, send your children over to be a foreign exchange student of sorts. Except that racism seems to be encouraged in this regard as the demons and witches don’t see humans worth breathing the same air as them. And some think it’s more than okay to hunt down and kill if one human trespasses into their realm. And the reason for THAT is implied to be Belos’ doing. Er, I mean–*Checks the leaked pitch bible*--Emperor Pupa? Uh…I’ll just stick with Belos. 

And that’s extra fascinating to me because Belos being a witch hunter was a major twist that spoke VOLUMES of the kind of people he represents. To find out that this version is more anti-human makes me curious of what kind of angle the show would have taken. Would Belos have been your bare-bones fantasy villain or would the writers find a different way to tackle his symbolism? And is the reason why the Demon Realm is more open up to the Human Realm because he hopes witches and demons can report about their enemies for a possible invasion? There’s no way to know for sure because that version of the story will never come to be, but it’s interesting to think of all the things we COULD have gotten. The same goes for other characters.

Amity: To think, Amity was considered important enough to be included in the original pitch pilot alongside our main trio. It makes sense. Dana Terrace has gone on record in saying that Luz and Amity’s relationship was something she wanted from the get go, so it’s smart to establish it as quickly as possible. Though the route they take is definitely different. Instead of being enemies to lovers, Lumity, in the original pitch, went for the friends to lovers trope…kind of.

Luz, in this version, is someone so desperate for positive attention and respect that she latches onto the first person in school that was nice to her. Except that Amity was looking for some quiet and just so happened to look like she was supporting Luz when telling everyone to leave her alone. It was an act of kindness, but not one done in generosity. It still meant the world to Luz, though, making her go ALL IN with friendship. Only to be a little too forward and creeped Amity out to the point where she was polite enough to say “Thank you,” but you could see the desperation in her eyes to be anywhere but next to Luz. Yet Luz doesn’t see that. She’s still too focused that someone was actually nice to her that she blindly follows Amity into a new world just to return a weird looking passport. Because Amity’s Luz’s friend now and friends do nice things to each other. Only for Amity to accidentally reveal that she couldn’t care less for Luz and shatter her hopes and dreams in one fell swoop.

In a weird way, I’d say Luz and Amity are off on a better first impression here than in the original series. There’s no attempted dissections or witch’s duels. Just…Amity trying to be polite in Luz’s presence only to act like your typical mean girl when she THINKS Luz isn’t around. Tossing away the drawing is harsh for sure, but here’s the interesting thing: Amity didn’t know she was talking to Luz at that moment. She didn’t even get rid of the drawing until someone drew (haha) attention to it. If anything, it’s worth noting that Amity still kept the drawing on her. Almost like, despite being weirded out by Luz, Amity felt as though the drawing WAS cute and only got rid of it when she thought someone would question her for having it. Can’t have that Little Miss Perfect status shatter over something some human gave her.

Am I reaching as a Lumity shipper? Oh, most certainly yes. But we all know the inevitable conclusion between these two. We know where they’re headed. Dana has been pretty adamant about wanting it from the start and this pilot sets the groundwork well. Knowing where these two will end up, it’s easy to make connections and hypothesize what means what. Plus, look at the face of shock and amazement on Amity’s face when she sees Luz standing up to Lilith. That looks like a girl who’s…feeling things for this human weirdo. They’re not off to a ROARING start, but I can see how things could improve between Luz and Amity. And who knows, maybe this version of these two might end up dating sooner with how quickly they seem interested in each other. Again, am I reaching? Most definitely, but I went without any new Lumity content for over a year so LET ME REACH!

The point I’m trying to make is that this version of Amity definitely seems a lot more chill and polite at the start, even though it’s likely she still has issues of even being FRIENDS with a human. But not everyone starts off polite.

Lilith: Crazy to think that Lilith started out as…basically a one-off villain like Warden Wrath. At least, that’s what I gathered from the pilot. The pitch bible hints that there COULD be more to her, but at the same time she gets sent to a fire dimension and loses a hand. That’s one-off villain energy if I’ve ever seen it. But if she is meant to be something more, I would love to see what differences could come of her being the headmaster of Hexside instead of Bump and how she could either develop into someone better through Luz’s influence as a student or regress into someone worse as she makes Luz’s school life a living hell. Whatever could come from her, it was kind of fun seeing Lilith act as more of a threat with her…out of nowhere ability to turn into a bat monster. It’s a pretty cool design and I love that it was brought out due to Eda’s constant pestering, proving that Lilith is still the same insecure nut that I love. And it is pretty great that this pilot confirmed that Lilith really did dye her hair to look more serious. You CAN’T tell me that’s not why the Lilith we know ditched the curly red hair.

But that’s about it when it comes to changes towards characters and locations. Let’s talk about the potential differences in the ongoing story.

Luz Stays Trapped Instead of Choosing to Stay: I mean, technically she chose to stay by breaking that key for no reason, but that’s more of a consequence of not thinking things through. She didn’t NEED to break the key, Luz could have just as easily pulled it out. Instead, she kicked the dang thing, leaving herself trapped in this new world. And it’s here that I would like to once again point out how this makes Pilot!Luz different and what’s lost by not including Camila. The Luz WE know would have been more careful. She always felt like someone who fought smarter, not harder, even in that first episode. Luz didn’t fight Wrath head on, she rallied a prison riot that distracted him long enough for her to hit a firework ball into his mouth. She’s intelligent and resourceful, where this one…kind of is? It was smart to send Lilith to the fire dimension, but again, not a great plan to break the key. Plus, without Camila, this doesn’t feel like as big of a deal as it could have been. Camila was the first person in Luz’s mind as she destroyed the portal door in the Season One finale. In the pilot, with no Camila, it feels like a non-sacrifice or even that big of a deal. She’s stuck, sure, but Luz doesn’t really seem to care that much. She feels happy being with Eda and King and doesn’t seem to be in that big of a rush to get home. Plus, it’s not exactly complicated to get back. There was a whole line of portal doors in the beginning that Luz could potentially sneak through and there’s not yet an established cannon that makes it seem like getting a new key would be difficult or even complicated. Once more, it gives the impression that this version of The Owl House would be focused less on personal stakes and more like giving Luz that fantasy adventure she’s always been craving for. It would make for a fun show, but not the SAME show. However, it is worth noting that there could be some potential drama. Especially for one twist that was a JOLT to my system.

EDA WORKS FOR THE EMPEROR?!: WHAT?!

I’ll admit, I feel like the reason why this is so shocking is because of the Eda I know and the Emperor I learned to fear. I mean, Eda, the woman who would sooner eat her own fist before even CONSIDERING helping Belos, even before the witch hunter business, was originally meant to HELP him. Of all the changes that the series could have made, this was by far the biggest. Everything that I thought to be constant turned out to be a lie and I was NOT prepared for it!

But again, the reason why I got that big of a reaction is because it goes against everything I knew about Eda. If this was my first introduction to her, it’d be less of a shocking twist and more of a…hook. Like how Invincible’s first episode (Don’t watch if you’re a baby) ends with a character you THOUGHT you could trust doing this intensely dark thing. The rest of the season is leading you to figure out WHY this was done and how the other characters would react, making you want to see more as the show inevitably leads up to this big conclusion that changes everything you once knew. The same applies here, with the reveal making me wonder why Eda would do this, how long she’s been doing it, how it will affect her relationship with Luz, and whether or not it’d be an easy fix. And much like the ending of Invincible’s first episode (Seriously, NOT meant for babies), this hook makes me interested in wanting to see what comes next. Except I never will know because that came from a version of The Owl House that will never exist.

The pilot is interesting because it shows me what The Owl House COULD have been. I wouldn’t say that it’s better than what we got or even that it’s a better first impression than “A Lying Witch and A Warden.” It’s definitely FUNNIER, I’ll give it that, but it doesn’t make the original pitch better, it makes it different. Everything looks the same and sounds the same, but the overall feel of this pilot makes it something that would have had a different story, tone, and ideas on how to develop these characters. Would I have liked it? Absolutely. It seems like a fun time. But that doesn’t mean I like the show we got any less. This was more like…getting a peek into an alternate universe where a show I already love would have been vastly different. And after over a year without any new Owl House content aside from stuff that fans have made, this was a very pleasant surprise that leaves me excited for the NEW fan content that springs from all this.

But that’s enough talking about a show that could have been made. Time to get back to a series that came into existence and I still love so much. See you all then as you all milk this gift that the internet has given you.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Hey there, first time anon here! I wanted to review blood ties properly, since i binged it in like a few hours some time ago (oops) and let you know that i truly believe it is a masterpiece of writing, i’m talking good enough to compete with many published novels out there. I really love how this fic dives deep into one of the most interesting (unexplored!!) eras of the group, the winter, i also adore how its developed through the quarry and farm eras (i’m so excited for the prison as well) and how the real romance develops and is strenghtened by time.

 Daryl is a really hot’n cold guy just like i imagine him being in truth, i love the romance so much and the way the relationship between Daryl and our reader is the backbone of the story as it should be, it pushes the plot fowards and even affects characters that aren’t them in funny (and sort of sad) ways, your depiction of Daryl is so authentic he’s truly amazing, a bit of a dick sometimes, and so true to canon he’s not all self loathing, he’s got a lot going on and you can tell just by the reader’s POV, that even with all his flip flopping she can read him like an open book most of the time. I’m really really looking foward to how thumper being there will affect his development from now on, we know he has a Strong sense of responsibility and so now the whole prison arc (if that is where we go next, i don’t really know, you work in mysterious ways Murda) will have a bigger impact on him beyond Merle being present, also thumper too, i’m counting on her being much like him from what we’ve seen of her during the pregnancy, very smart and perceptive, you could even say... observant, but also an absolute menace (thats what i got from all the moving around at least) and i look foward to seeing all the ways she’s going to change Daryl’s brain chemistry every day, for better or for worse she will torment every minute of his day, i hope she is a true daddy’s girl that will make Daryl pay for for his every sin on this Earth by being a brat just like he is.

Most of the reason why i didn’t really comment on it normally instead of writing this freaky text is to comment on the development of secondary characters on this fic, i think they are very Strong and all feel true to the show as well, there is one relationship i absolutely love in this fic, only second to Daryl and reader really, its Lori and reader, maybe its my nerd brain overanalyzing but they almost feel like narrative foils in this fic (or is it parallels? let us know if it is intentional or not please!!).

 I really love the interactions with Lori and reader, i’ve Always felt like she is overhated in most fics (sure she kind of messes up, but only wants the best most of the time) and here she feels really close to how it truly is in the show, and its so sad, especially contrasted with the reader. They both start in different positions/ -reader is in a very casual relationship with Daryl- Lori is commited to Rick (and somewhat casual with shane, but not really) - Reader knows the ins and outs of survival out there and is not completely vulnerable - Lori relies on the men around her for everything including emotional support, - Daryl is initially cold towards reader as usual with him - Lori has the full attention of both Rick and Shane/. But slowly the places of these two in the world are reversed, not completely but still, Reader gets sick and vulnerable, she doubts herself and her destiny in this world and needs a lot of emotional and physical support, she is no longer that huntress in the woods and needs to rely on a man ( still very Strong on her own tho, that birth scene is seared in my brain forever) and others to survive.

Meanwhile we have lori, and her journey is what it was in the show, she starts off with support from a lot of people, especially Rick and even Carl, but loses it and ends up sort of lonely and the presence o our reader only makes it more apparent, reader IS what Lori wants to be now relationships wise, her pregnancy was not all well but she had the support of Daryl most of the way, while Rick is distant, Can’t imagine what its like from  her perspective, seeing reader and Daryl together, him keeping her warm Always looking out for her, meeting her needs. Meanwhile Rick is out there doing thangs y’know, stuff. But she never resents reader for it, not visibly at least, she is a good friend who reassures and comforts her, and has to mostly make do on her own (and with Carol’s help, i imagine) and is really a wise figure during this pregnancy, i think in this fic her develpment really shows how she got to her s3 form. And yeah, i really love the interactions between them very much, it’ll be even sadder to see reader’s perspective of that day...

I also adore Carol in this fic very much, i think it shows how much of a caretaker she is in canon as well, we forget that everything she does, she does for someone else, Always looking out for others before even thinking of herself and really being the rock of this group ( a rock that can easily bash some skulls in) Also love Hershel having to stick his hands in places he wouldn’t go with a gun, bless his heart for not being mad af at Daryl in That scene, i know i would have lots of opinions about having to touch the man’s fluids y’know. He’s also a guiding light though this whole pregnancy, which is depicted in such a realistic way i’m in awe every time i think about it, things i had no idea could happen, how it really makes you feel the passage of time during this winter with both dread and wonder (especially with thumper rolling around in there, kid really is a menace) and with the birth scene, i knew Daryl would be the first to fold he was Always the weak link in that van, i’m sorry. Also sure Maggie is also coming out of the van with at least one new trauma, but she can handle it, Hershel will Always be God’s strongest soldier bless him twice. Also its really funny thinking of this whole thing on Rick’s perspective, it must all be one long ‘’TF is going on back there???Omg walkers!!!What do you mean Daryl passed out???Omg herd!! What do you mean its stuck???where am i going??!!’’.

And oh my God this ‘’review’’ is more than one Thousand words long, its time to stop i sound like a stalker, so sorry but i’m a Nerd with an overactive brain, i’m almost at the point of sending fanart attached, but yeah I REALLY REALLY love this fic like many do, i hope you receive all the love you can for it and are Always succesfull with everything you do, its really one of the best finds in modern fandom i’ve seen lately. Sorry for the mistakes, i’m not even near being good at formatting and punctuation in english lol. So yeah have a great night, we’re all really excited for the next chapter, i hope you’re also taking some time for yourself as well, its very important, Thanks for everything Murda

(PS: is it weird i forgot to talk about all the smut? Its really good, one of the best i’ve ever ready, sorry lol)<3

Okay, here we go!

This review was just… I cried. Hard. I mean, I love everyone’s reactions and replies but this just… wow.

Exploring the missing months was something I was so excited to do. Especially in this sense. To have him going through these months not just growing closer to his survival buddies, slowly finding them to be more of a family, but also exploring something we didn’t see on the show at all: being a partner and a soon-to-be father. I wanted to test those waters and see if I could stay true to who he might be had this all happened in canon.

One of my biggest concerns with every chapter is the struggle of keeping him in character while being with reader. I’m so happy that you feel like I’ve done that! The story will likely always be from reader’s prospective so to know that I am articulating what is happening with Daryl through her eyes is encouraging. I want to make sure that their struggles and victories are equally explored.

Thumper is already a daddy’s girl. She calmed when he was around, they had a connection which is 100% a thing. My daughter was slightly the opposite. She was calm and never moved much; to the point I would go to the ER to make sure she was okay. But then I found that when my sister was around, my daughter would wiggle and kick and roll. I just started calling my sister to come over if I got worried. That’s where the inspiration of having them connect like that came from.

Thumper is going to challenge both of them. I won’t say much more than that but they will definitely struggle as new, first time parents.

Merle will appear. I also won’t say much more about that.

I don’t dislike Lori. I think she made some impulsive choices to ease her pain and fear. I also think that sometimes she was more blunt or yappy than she needed to be but it came from a good place. I wanted to incorporate that, like when she wanted everyone to leave Daryl upstairs. She meant well, but spoke out of fear. Reader adores her. They had their moments but I wanted reader and her to be close, like Lori being a guide for her and just a good friend. Lori does see the changes in Daryl, really showing when she’s whispering advice to him. When she’s in the van with reader and they talk, I hope I really expressed Lori’s solemnity. Just “I’ve done this before” but you can tell that she’s carrying a burden and it’s not the baby. She’s yearning for what she’s seeing. That’s why she steps in to help. She wants to see in them what she’s missing. Yeah, that scene will be difficult.

Carol is my queen. I love her so much. She will always be the biggest cheerleader for Daryl and reader. In every story I write. Here, she wants to make sure reader had the support that she never had with Sophia. There are going to be some really deep moments that involve Carol in the next chapter. Or it may be the one after that. I also love to show Carol’s growth from the sidelines. She’s a secondary character in this series but not by much.

I honestly wish I had included more of Rick in the birth scene. Maybe I’ll do a “deleted scenes” series lol.

Omg, fanart. 🩵 @bananafire11 has done two. One for The Dixon Chronicles that was a surprise and it’s attached to the chapter. And then one for my birthday that I’m printing and hanging on my Daryl wall. I will never ask for art from my stories unless I’m going to pay for it but I will never turn it down!

This was such an inspirational review and it really allowed me to think about the way I’ve constructed this story so far (not in a bad way). I appreciate every word and I’m so so happy that the series is getting love like this. I am always so hard on myself. I’m still learning to write for myself and be glad that others like it but as a bonus and not something that defines my writing. If that makes sense.

Thank you so much for this. I hope I answered your questions and gave some insight on where my head is with certain scenes and characters.

Whoever you are, thank you. I love you. 🩵🩵🩵🩵

[0rb0t]

ACTUALLY I HAVE MORE TO SAY on that Planetina episode. (Warnings for Rick Sympathizers, I go hard against him in this, even if I love him)

I noticed people were saying that they felt like the writers were more lenient on Planetina because she was a woman, but I don't actually believe that was the case.

The episode is extremely creepy but the thing is, we are seeing it from Morty's perspective. We have spent most of the series seeing stuff from Rick's perspective. This episode was uniquely NOT from Rick's perspective in either plot. It was Morty's or it was Summer's.

Planetina's creepy relationship with Morty was absolutely meant to parallel Rick and Morty's creepy relationship. The episode literally starts with Morty rejecting Rick to be with Planetina-- and not only rejecting Rick, but casting off "immaturity" in order to be with someone he idolizes but also wants to be mature for.

Yes it was mentioned that in the Toxic episode, Morty was with two older women, but you need to think about what that says about Morty at this point. His ideal Healthy was someone who was seen as mature, who wanted to be looked up to, who had confidence. Morty thinks that being a scared kid is toxic and that his ideal healthiness will be a man who has confidence and is mature and will have a mature woman with him. He's literally a middle school boy, this is not abnormal for middle schoolers, and it definitely gets worse when their needs aren't met.

Morty spends the entirety of the Planetina episode falling for this woman he admires, idolizes and thinks it's love, and Planetina takes advantage of that, both by having aspects of the "born sexy yesterday" trope but also because she's really kind to Morty and always says yes to him-- but let's examine that trope for a second here. In this case, Planetina is an adult woman who behaves in a childish manner that is appealing to Morty and makes her seem cute and he wants to do anything for her.

Hm. Rick is literally an adult who behaves in a childish manner that allows him to get on well with teenagers and kids but not so much fellow adults. Rick can also make Morty do almost anything for him, except he's not kind. His kindness is conditional.

TO MY BAD FAITH READERS: STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM

I'm not saying here that anyone who is an adult that behaves childishly is automatically a predator. Rick and Planetina both are predatory towards Morty because they engage with him in highly inappropriate ways because he is a minor and they are adults. Boundaries are broken and reassured it's okay, there's a lot of "don't tell your parents about this" sometimes in actions and not words but Rick has LITERALLY said that out loud-- It's how you treat others that can make you predatory, and Planetina literally keeps encouraging this out of Morty, too.

In reality this episode is kind of an extension of the Toxic episode, because it shows that side of Morty that craves maturity because he can't connect to ANYONE around him, but also he wants so badly to be wanted, to be accepted, to be told he's good and perfect just the way he is. He wants to be loved so badly. So of course he latches onto the first woman who seems to be saying all those things to him because he HASN'T been taught how to avoid these creeps. And then when Beth finally starts stepping up as a mother for Morty, of course he sees this as betrayal-- because in his experience, his family has NEVER had his back. And the entire time, Jerry is playing a childish game where a little guy throws up everywhere LMAO Like, the writing and direction of this episode is so on point, it's Morty going "everyone around me is immature and they do not understand me and they don't want me to be happy" and Planetina takes advantage of that.

It really does not matter if she was genuine or not-- Morty is 14 and she is an adult who is going for the affections of a little boy HJSDFK LIKE. IF YOU FELT CREEPED OUT BY IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S CREEPY and it NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM IT. It just feels extra bad because we're getting it from Morty's perspective.

Morty finally puts his foot down when Planetina turns to outright murder--and she even tries to turn it around "You murdered my kids" EVEN THOUGH SHE BASICALLY TOLD HIM TO? She didn't use the words directly but she did tell Morty, KNOWING he was desperate for validation and love, that she was going to be taken away... Morty goes all out, arming himself to prevent that. As badass as this scene was, this entire episode really shows how middle schoolers (esp boys) are able to be groomed and radicalized by dangerous people they admire.

The original post said that the writers are lenient on women groomers but wouldn't act this way if it were men-- Morty likes girls, idk what to tell you. But also the EPISODE was from Morty's perspective. the Mr Jelly Bean episode was not-- it was horrifying but we were still generally from Rick's perspective. And as great as it was to see Rick kill that guy for trying to sexually assault Morty, Rick has not stepped up in a single way SINCE to help teach Morty how to protect himself, to safeguard himself from predators, etc. In fact, all he really aimed to do was make Morty more dependent on him.

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS BUT I HAVE NO ISSUE SAYIN THIS SHIT CAUSE IT'S TRUE I'm glad Rick is trying NOW but the boundaries between them have long since eroded. Morty is used to being treated like this, and Rick is used to being able to get away with it.

That's why Evil Morty's finale was so poignant-- "I'm not evil, I'm just sick of him" Literally every single time Morty has pushed away from Rick, we get this perspective that Morty is bad and is being mean to Rick. HECK NO-- Morty is showing agency and trying to protect himself.

This episode is no different, he literally DOES break up with Planetina, and she (despite causing all of these situations and having the power in the relationship) blames Morty and acts like he did this to hurt her and leaves. And Morty wails openly into his mom's embrace, because Beth is there to comfort her son who is BROKEN over it.

And then these parallels are LITERALLY MET in the pre-finale episode where Rick is like I DONT NEED YOU MORTY I CAN REPLACE YOU WITH TWO CROWS--

The Planetina episode is MEANT to be watched with the finale episodes.

I don't think it's fair to blame the writers for something that they were really REALLY smart about writing in these episodes. To say that the writers didn't make it blatant is... frankly untrue... This show does not work as well when they have to look at the camera and go "THING BAD" because the entire show has had Rick grooming Morty into becoming exactly like him and that ends up being more acceptable to a lot of people because a lot of people are biased towards Rick.

And I understand the pull! I love Rick Sanchez! He's very relatable! But he's also quite literally a "do not be me" type of warning character LMAO He's a cautionary tale, at all times.

This show is entertainment first, it's not meant to be watched as education, its primary focus is to tell stories. If you learn something from it, GREAT! But the most bad faith interpretations because you're uncomfortable about how something is shown isn't actually conducive to anyone's learning.

Next time you feel uncomfortable while watching Rick and Morty, ask yourself why, and be prepared that those feelings of discomfort MAY BE MIRRORED IN ASPECTS OF RICK AND HIS GRANDSON'S PORTRAYAL. This is how I learned to stop believing anything Rick had to say about Jerry, because it's usually projection.

[spirit-meets-the-b0ne]

After the now infamous deleted GRRM blogpost it felt like a good time to bring up this rant that's been sitting in the back of my drafts for a while now. This is a long one so buckle in.

The adaptation discourse will be so much easier when the fact that an “adaptation” and “inspired by” are accepted as different things. Many of the things being argued as adaptations really end up fitting under “inspired by/based on” more than “adaptation.” The basis of the breakdown lying in “are you adapting for change in medium or are you adopting characters and worlds with new narratives and personalities?” Too often these terms are used interchangeably or amalgamated together.

Because an adaption from text to film should boil down to; okay we may not be able to show this grand explosion or wild fight so we will make it as similar in tone as possible with the right tension and have a choreographer work around our physical limitations. For example, if you tried to make a live action Naruto (which I vehemently condemn for the record) almost every single fight has to be changed because outside of overusing CGI you could simply never display the key moments of those battles. So while the resounding retort of, "aN aDapTatiOn iS nEveR gOinG tO bE a 1:1" is obvious, but that phrase is commonly being used as a blanket response to any and all criticism regardless of how valid the point is.

An inspired by on the contrary CAN deviate from the canon in ways that an adaption should not. Inspired by is categorically like what Disney did with 90s animated movies, they were inspired by myths, folktales and legends but changed to make palatable for young audiences and of course there’s subtextual references (Scar holding the skull as in Hamlet) through out. You would never call them adaptions however. A production inspired by Shakespeare (Lion King inspired by Hamlet) and an adaptation (Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet) are inherently different because of this fundamental distinction. Because the adaptation of Romeo & Juliet kept faithfully to not only the themes in a modern setting but Luhrmann being a madman left the play's dialogue unchanged, only the setting and props suited to the new format. Which is the case in point. THAT was an adaptation.

I always come back to it but with Avatar the Last Airbender adaptations are really categorically more suited for the label of “inspired by” because an adaptation doesn’t mean “okay let’s jam 3 separate story lines into one episode” like absolutely NO. If you don’t “have the time” to explore an arc fully then YOU NEED MORE EPISODES. Sokka not wearing Kyoshi makeup and therefore changing the entire dynamic and the entire point of that plot is NOT an adaption, it was something both physically and metaphysically that could and should have happened. Changing a character and their relationships is not adaption, it’s adoption, and listen it’s okay to want to do that. It’s the foundation of fan fiction. And it’s also okay to say, I like the stories as they’re presented because I don’t have a relationship/love for the source. However, the people who do have every right to take issue with the changes, even those you enjoyed.

Whereas the inspired by category gets a lot more leniency with the plot and characters. To go back to the Disney animated films of the 90s, Hercules is one of the cases referenced most often. Of course you can’t make a Greek mythological adaption for children with today’s ratings and restrictions - that was what made them stories to inspire not adapt. It’s why what Rick Riordan did was a great effort and worked to make complex mythology accessible to kids. It’s why tumblr nerds often laugh about the portrayal of Zeus being a faithful and loving husband and Hera being the loving mother of Hercules. In that case of course you have to change those dynamics and principles for the intended audience. Or sometimes inspired by requires you to introduce a different setting and protagonist inspired by a source. Detective Pikachu for example isn’t an Ash Ketchum led live action it’s something completely separate from that universe while following most of the main principles. Similar to the “based on” film/television that might also keep some foundational material but present a new plot or different tone. Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy is a fantastic example of this where the protagonist and antagonists are all familiar and they’re in Gotham City as fans would expect but their stories and relationships might not have been what the audience expected.

All that to be said, when a writer themselves is entering the ring to defend their work from the "adaptation" being put forth with their name on it - it is completely justifiable. GRRM isn't new to television or film, he's been doing this for decades and has worked on projects before, all of which had budgets and production teams to be considered. The other blanket response of "well THE BUDGET" is really fallible because we've seen low budget films pull off incredible results on screen. The reoccurring issue here and in the television media landscape really all doubles back to executives being the downfall. You have calculating business wads who wouldn’t know creativity if it bit them in the ass making creative choices for shows. Most of them being qualified only in business and not in media or entertainment by any other way. This is not exclusive to television we can see cases of this happening in music as well (see Sabrina Carpenters label not wanting to release “Espresso” the arguable song of the summer) when these people are more often than not dead wrong.

GRRM's main focus in the blog post was around Maelor's exclusion which was purported to be a budget/casting issue. To me this is a very fallible excuse. Mainly because, not wanting to cast another toddler when you already aged down the other children is an easy one. A. You could have had used an infant (also would have added more emotional tension in B&C if Haelena was alone holding the baby) because it's pretty easy to interchange infant actors. B. use a doll. I mean this is like elementary but seriously a swaddled baby doll and some sound fx could have been easily done. Still works for later scenes if you have the doll in a crib "sleeping" and that's me accepting a relatively lazy inclusion of Maelor. Considering there's no way to introduce him now after the explicit details of Aegon's dick being destroyed. Some of these changes or mashups of plot points are more than just budgetary issues they’re logic and continuity based issues.

My point being, the very purpose of an adaptation is to take the source material and doing what you can to present the best version of this story to the audience with the tools you are given. There are of course ways this won't mean every single line of dialogue or action is going to be followed to a t. However, if you were going to adapt a recipe let's say, to make it a vegetarian dish - you can swap out the meat for another source of protein or veggies and make the sauce/foundation of the recipe exactly as it's called for but adapt it to your palette or preference. Inspired by is when white people make shit like “lasagna tacos” where you’re like well that’s … nice I guess? But definitely not authentic. Or just ask an Italian chef if you put heavy cream in your Carbonara and watch them start foaming at the mouth.

So while I understand not everyone may agree with GRRM about his response - he is completely justified in doing so, as is anyone else critical of this adaptation. Because it barely adheres to what an adaptation is supposed to be. Some of you may not like that either but this production should have been labeled as "inspired by" or “from the world of” for a lot of reasons considering the liberties they took and omissions they executed. This goes far beyond the scope of this case but I truly applaud George for making a stand and calling out the failures of this production. If I had one more person try to tell me to basically accept shitty adaptations for the sake of them being adaptations I was going to start screaming at the sky. If you're one of the people that likes the changes to HoTD or ATLA or Witcher then god bless I'm happy you have that but the suggestion that fans of the source material are supposed to shut up and accept them is asinine. Discounting the majority of a fanbase is grossly disrespectful and dismissing their criticisms is truly unjustifiable. When an author has to throw their hat in the ring to explain this it's time to look at the bigger picture. He nailed it in a previous blog post:

it does not seem to matter whether the source material was written by Stan Lee, Charles Dickens, Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl, Ursula K. Le Guin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, or… well, anyone.   No matter how major a writer it is, no matter how great the book, there always seems to be someone on hand who thinks he can do better, eager to take the story and “improve” on it.   “The book is the book, the film is the film,” they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound.   Then they make the story their own. They never make it better, though.   Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse. (x)

Not to sound like a Boomer but making a story your own is not an adaptation. It just isn't. If you aren't clever or creative enough (*cough* Ryan C*ndal *cough*) to make an original work I personally do not see any validity in taking someone else's work and implementing your own artistic choices that fundamentally contradict the source material. Unless you want to call it something else. I have no problem with taking a concept and reinventing the story ie: Kurt Sutter basing Sons of Anarchy loosely on Hamlet or Diablo Cody's Lisa Frankenstein. I actually rather enjoy re-imagined stories whether they be parodies or more creative interpretations. Those are all well and good. Not to be mischaracterized as adaptations tho.

"Adaptations" and "inspired by" works can and should coexist but there needs to be a clear distinction to the production teams and audiences respectively.

While some people have had negative responses to George's post, on the website flooded with creators whether they make art or write, I find it rather a suspiring reaction. It's an odd position to take even if the justification is that he sold the material - how many of you wouldn't take that opportunity? Who wouldn't want a major media corporation to offer to adapt your work. Shit, I would sell my work for pennies on the dollar to see a television show produced from it. That being said, I would be devastated beyond belief if the changes that I never accepted or approved were implemented and put out there under the name of my work. So whether it be from the point of view as a fan or an author I simply cannot subscribe to the notion that disappointing adaptations are in and of themselves a compliment undeserving of criticism. Nor can I accept some of the television productions being marketed as "adaptation" when they're categorically "inspired by" in nature. If that distinction was acknowledged I could at least justify some of the changes we’ve seen and dismiss book purists as well, but as the show is purported to be an adaptation I cannot see this as a success. It fails in ways an adaptation would not, for reasons that frankly have more holes in them than Swiss cheese. George deserves better and the fans deserve better.

[chase-ingjackson]

A few reasons I like and dislike the the new Percy Jackson show (and why I think the musical is better) - initial reaction

To start, I think this new PJO show is a million times better than that dumpster fire of a movie (though I love logan lerman <3). I like that it is quite faithful to the overall arcs and major plot lines of the book. I love the diversity and high caliber of actors (though I def have some Viria-art inspired character images in my head that are god-tier). I love some of the characterizations/portrayals, especially when it comes to making the character more complex (I really appreciate TV Sally for being a real person with complex emotion, though of course book Sally is my fav). And I love that it's so high budget and hgihly-anticipated (great marketing) that it is bringing this beloved story to a greater audience, especially the younger generation and older generation (as parents/grandparents) than those of us who grew up with the series.

I can boil down all of my dislikes of this show into one overarching but very essential part of the show: I don't like that it is a drama. The characters are way too serious and too every-other-moment-we-need-an-instense-heart-to-heart. What I think this show should have been is a comedy adventure with drama/melodrama sprinkled in. In the books, it's all about the banter. And the TV show does some good one-liners, but it's always so serious. I think the best part of the book is that the characters can stay light-hearted and fun despite the horrors and terrors they face. In the show, the gods spoon feed the trio most of the answers, so when they do have a good realization (SPOILER: e.g. Kronos being the orchestrating force) it kind of comes out of nowhere. TV Annabeth is so serious (I know in the first book she is her most serious, but not to this degree) and a lot of the moments when she has time to use her smarts are gone or approached differently. Percy, too. He's not just self-sacrificing (which they really lean into in the show) but he's also incredibly smart and silly. In the books he's kind of a surface-level himbo with great critical thinking, but in the show he's kind of left in the dark and doesn't get opportunities to make his own plans (also, he doesn't seem to know how to control his power (by the 7th episode); whereas in the book he def did at this point. Then there are just dumb changes to make the show more "serious" like not mentioning that cell phones attract monsters or that monsters just smell demigods and not have a 6th sense for them. I'm finding that by trying to change these small details to make it something more exciting or interesting, it's distancing us existing fans by not letting us relate to the small details that really don't matter. For the cellphones, they still use Iris messages rather than getting a payphone or something, so that's kind of a plot hole in the show that is answered by the book.

Anyways, those are my main takeaways. Now, when I say "the musical" I refer to The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical by Joe Tracz and Rick Rokicki which first premiered in 2014 but got revamped and redebued in 2017 (which is when it came into my life). I got to see it live in Toronto in 2019 with my middle school best friend, but have been an avid listener of the soundtrack since 2017 (the day it came out on streaming platforms).

The musical in my eyes is a nearly-perfect adaptation of the book. It's soo funny - def the action comedy I'm after, but does have the meaningful emotional moments (ballads, which are essential in musicals). The show itself if the full package; however, even just listening to the soundtrack gives you the whole gist. Here's a link to hte soundtrack on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFwX6FWeUFQ&list=PL0hK1fYMaqXbtZ0Fhm48TYcLJl7ikNX7Q&ab_channel=TheLightningThief%3AOriginalCastAlbum

Anyways, I want to hear more thoughts and pls tell me what you think of the show (and the musical!!)

[pianapplez]

Hello there 👋👀,

So I just found your blog and had a lot of fun scrolling through all the pjo show crit😂 I couldn't help but notice that one tag you left on a post where you said you had some beef with Annabeth's portrayal in the books 👀 Would you mind elaborating on that if you're comfortable with it🙈? Because I absolutely share that sentiment, but it's sooo veeeery rare that I see other people express anything like it... I've found that trying to be a part of the fandom can be pretty alienating most of the time, if you're not exactly the biggest most devoted Percabeth shipper...😅 And often any criticism leveled at Annabeth just gets you a smack with the "internalized-misogyny" hammer... it's even worse in the tv show now due to... obvious reasons...

Again just if you're comfortable with answering of course🙈 There is a reason I stayed on anon after all...😅😂

Really glad you asked because i finally get to ramble about this heheheh (going forward, know that i skimmed over The Last Olympian to have a clearer sense of what I meant because that's the book where Rick fumbles her character more than the others)

i'm gonna try to make as much sense as possible but short answer would be, she's underdeveloped. Long answer:

She really got on my nerves in the last two books, with the whole Rachel debacle and then the Battle of New York. I can't really remember a single moment in those books where she and Percy aren't bickering or having heated discussions, which really made me question their friendship status. Of course, it's not like friends can't fight and it obviously builds up the (romantic) tension between them, but it got unbearable at one point.

I understand she's a teenager in an incredibly stressful situation that didn't even get to have a normal upbringing- she grew up way too fast (run away at 7, head counselor at 12) while also not really maturing, which is not a problem for a character, if it is handled properly. Given the fact that I am writing this, Riordan did not.

On the surface, my biggest beef is that Annabeth is not exactly held accountable for her actions (ie. treating Rachel a bit like shit and going off on Percy for a bunch of stuff.) I know Percy is to blame a bit here: as far as we know, in TLO he basically cuts the greek world out of his life as much as he can as a coping mechanism. And while yes, he never apologizes either, he doesn't give her nearly half the hard time she gives him: always either giving him the cold shoulder (there must be at least one example of this in the entire series but i cant be bothered to look it up sorry) or starting an argument only to then storm off (see the "you're a coward, Percy Jackson!" scene, which is not the fairest example since she was confronting Percy about ignoring camp but also was a bit too harsh about it) (especially after finally reading the prophecy and being under the impression that he was absolutely going to die when he turned 16 lmao) or just straight up storming off (see, Annabeth reacting when Rachel shows up for the first time during the battle of new york). While most of these feel, at least to some degree, fairly justified given how the entire situation does an absolute number on her emotions, she comes off a bit brattish and like she's trying to rile Percy up, especially when it comes to Rachel, which in the context of a battle that could mean the destruction of the world.... Well, it reads as a bit childish to me, and i wouldn't exactly have that much of a problem with it if it was dealt with in some way (a two-way apology would be nice).

After that first impression, i realized that Annabeth is barely ever anything else other than a plot device (when relating to Luke) or a love interest (when relating to Percy). This might be because the books are on Percy's POV. Hell, on the third book he's even conflicted when Annabeth is considering joining the Hunters of Artemis, aka, when making a choice for herself would mean he loses her (which is fine and dandy but it feels like Percy is more upset about her choosing her own path rather than being sad about not seeing her as often); we really only get a few glimpses of her, as in, actually her when she's on her own.

Obviously it's impossible to talk about Annabeth without touching on percabeth, which also is, in my opinion, what hinders Annabeth's character the most. On paper they sound great. The guy whose fatal flaw is loyalty falls in love with a girl whose been let down by people over and over, and she decides to never give up on the boy whose always had people give up on him (can't find one of the million posts that talks about this right now but it always goes something like that) And yeah, the bickering is really well written! But that's literally as far as it ever goes: they don't ever seem to have fun together, because 8 times out of 10 the bickering ends up being passive aggressive, and mostly done by Annabeth. My biggest gripe about percabeth is that their friendship seems to be based off... shared trauma. Literally. Other than going on quests together we are given no examples of them hanging out, nor a reason why they would want to spend time together in the first place, not even a shared hobby. Yes, in the fourth book they had a movie "date" planned but of course they didn't even get to it, and surprise surprise, they had a minor discussion, and surprise surprise, Annabeth was passive aggressive again. It's hard to picture them having fun together when even the author doesn't write in any scenes in which they get along smoothly (and before you say anything, a scene in which they get along where neither of them is about to die, and they're not talking about previous adventures. Gets a bit hard then, doesn't it?) It's even harder to picture them as a couple when the moment she gets upset about something, she starts coming off as emotionally manipulative (see, again, literally any conversation with Rachel or about Rachel)

To be fair, the books are relatively short and don't allow many "filler" chapters, if you will; there's always something happening to keep the main plot or a minor plot point moving forward, but it's not like there is no room to develop the characters' relationships, especially when we're talking about the main char and what is essentially his endgame. As an example we have Percy and Clarisse, or Percy and Beckendorf. Their interactions are brief but still hold so much weight.

Worst of all, Annabeth could be one hell of a character; what's most interesting of all is how being a daughter of Athena she is still incredibly emotionally driven, which is displayed very clearly with her fatal flaw being pride: her telling the Sphynx that her questions were too easy was not smart nor strategic: it was completely impulsive. I seriously think she wasn't far from being the best character in the series had she been given more time.

I guess i have as much beef with Annabeth as i have with Rick for doing her dirty. I really could sum this up with: while her emotions are justified, she acts upon them quite poorly. And this is what i mean when i say she's underdeveloped, because it would've been nice to see her come to her senses a bit.

Would love to read anyone's opinions on her character though, feel free to comment, even (or especially) if you don't agree with me!

[citadelsanchez]

Alright so, once again took a break from requests to write up my own little fic. I really like this one, minus a few doubts but the idea really jumped out at me. Also, plot twisttt maybe hm. You'd better just read to find out. :)

(gn reader again)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What'll it be on the menu tonight?" Your wild haired boyfriend asks you, standing almost contentedly in front of you against the kitchen counter.

For a second, the sentence takes you aback, before you offer back a warm smile and start thinking of your answer.

"Uhh, hmm...."

"Let me guess.... Paninis?" Rick raises a brow at you questionably.

"Oh you know I'm always in the mood for those," you respond, staring lovingly at the tall statured man.

"Something about you eating them three times a week gave me that idea. L-luckily for you they're not hard to make" He replies, before setting out the bread and grabbing the meats and cheeses from the refrigerator.

Earlier, you'd offered to make the two of you and the Smiths dinner as usual, but Rick decided to take charge after the Smiths declined to go have a family meal out.

It's not the kind of thing you'd typically call a "grand gesture", but after knowing Rick for so long, it's practically angelic behavior.

You felt elated by the progress that Rick has slowly unraveled to everyone in layers- so evident that you can almost pinpoint them all. The scowls that have become replaced with concern, the verbal blows that no longer flow like a river through his wicked tongue, the small but meaningful acts of compassion that seem to plough through the remaining malice in his mind.

But with all the positive development, you also feel uneasy; as if you shouldn't be too grateful. Rick is still Rick and you're a little quick to doubt whether he's capable of so much change. However, you know that you've got your own mental issues to weather, and that doubt always sits at the core of them- so you're able to push the thought aside.

"Auugh fuck! Just washed this." Your thoughts are broken by Rick shrugging off his white lab coat due to a large chipotle stain he'd managed to make on the bottom.

You start to snicker but immediately silence yourself as he turns to you with a blank look.

"S-sorry, is something funny?" He asks, tone flat and unamused as his face is hardened in the state you're used to seeing it in- stern and livid.

You give yourself an imaginary facepalm at your lack of self control over the situation, knowing you most likely ruined the nice dinner he was attempting to make you both.

You shake your head. "No, Rick, I- I'm sorr-"

You're looking him in the eye pleadingly as he begins to laugh quietly. "Just busting your balls. I-I could turn myself into a sandwich but can't make one properly, fuck. That is funny."

You open your mouth to respond but he chirps back up before you can utter anything. "Alright bitch, they're done!"

And you're dazed, but relieved and aching with adoration as he sets both of your plates on the counter with a small smile.

————————————————————

Later, you're regretting your poor decision of not buying a new heater to accompany a temperature drop in the winter.

You shiver in your bedroom and pace around in search for blankets as Rick lays on your bed playing with some sci-fi device.

Opening your closet, a pile of stacked up books and clothes fall to the floor and you groan in annoyance but start digging through the mess frantically.

You hear a small snort from the bed and then a shrill beep before poking your head from out of the closet in alert. "Rick, what wa-"

Ahh, heat. You feel it melt into your skin and mold the room, replacing the freezing condition it was just in.

"All you had to do was say 'Oh Rick, please make it warm in here'" He teases from his spot in the bed and you roll your eyes.

"We both know I'm not dependent on you. You literally tell me not to be all the time" You counter with calmness in your voice, sliding into your spot in bed and laying to face him.

An expression similar to hurt evades his face for a second before he looks away from your eyes. "Yeah. You shouldn't be."

Rick pulls your body closer to his with his arms and softly rests his head on top of yours wordlessly.

You wonder if he's okay- hesitant in fear to prod but aware that Rick is only more physically affectionate when something serious is playing out in his mind.

Taking your fingers between his hair, you gently tug a few knots out and smooth it back down. You hum as the blue waves bounce back into their place and pull your hand back.

Rick grabs it and holds it in place. You feel your face is as warm as the room must be now. The two of you have cuddled before, sure- but only once or twice had you gotten such sweet caresses from Rick and you never expect it when you do.

You feel sleep trickling into your body when Rick speaks. "L-listen, Y/N."

You open your eyes and meet his, noting how glassy they look- with a striking amount of concern dancing in them.

"Hmm?" You say, heartbeat now kicking a little at the sound of his voice.

"I- Y/N, I.. I love you."

You freeze completely at his words, now wide eyed and breath catching.

No.

No.

This can't be actually happening.

You start trembling under his touch as tears pool into your eyes. You cover your face and let out a wail of pain, shrinking into the covers.

Rick sits up now, panicked by your sudden change of emotions "Y/N? What's wrong? Why are you c-"

"You asshole!" You sob out, still not acknowledging him.

Rick reaches to hug you but you jerk away.

"You're not Rick!" You exclaim, the pain blurring your vision and crushing your chest like a weight.

"Wh-what are you going on ab-?"

Anger powers over your sorrow now and you shove his chest. "You're not Rick! He told me. He told me all that time ago, th-that it was true, b-but if he ever sa-said it again, it w-wouldn't be him."

The hurt clouds your brain as the room spins. "That it would be a copy of him."

The Rick beside you drops his face and looks down. "Y/N.. I'm really, uh sorry. It's not any less true. I do love you."

You stare at the wall emotionlessly now. "He never expected you to actually say it for me to find out. Because you're a part of him."

The newly found robot Rick sighs and looks at you with sympathy. "Y/N, I just-"

"Where is he?" You demand, cutting him off and glaring with rage. "Where is he hiding in his cowardice?"

Robot Rick sighs again. "He's under the garage."

[roosinii]

I always forget that the Kane Siblings are stupidly young. I’m no authority on Egyptian Mythology, so I don’t know how accurate the books are and how much has been… creativity reinterpreted, so I won’t make any comments on that. Therefore, my biggest gripe with this series is the age of Carter and Sadie. Add two or three years to both of them and you remove my biggest problem with this trilogy. Hell, if you want to keep them younger, do it in The Red Pyramid. Then make the timeskip between The Red Pyramid and The Throne Of Fire a couple of years. Slide these books’ positions on the timeline like those sliding switches on soundboards!

Everyone else can stay the same age though. Except maybe Zia, keep her and Carter’s ages roughly analogous to avoid issues. In fact, make her older than him! By a year or two, or somewhere in the middle Foreshadowing Unless It Isn’t. Also, as a side note, keep her shabti around for longer, let her and Carter and Sadie develop much more of a relationship so that we can overturn it all later for more angst!

Sadie should be at least fourteen going on fifteen in the Throne Of Fire, if not fifteen going on sixteen. This would make Carter approximately sixteen/seventeen and a half, and remove the whole “Anubis and also Walt fancy a twelve going on thirteen year old” bit, which I think is an unfortunate consequence of Rick consistently forgetting how old his characters are when the plot doesn’t demand he reference it and/or having written himself into a corner age-wise and not managing to write himself out of it. This has the advantage of not needing to alter much of their dialogue, because the Kane Siblings already talk like they’re much older than they are. (It also brings to life some more fascinating character flaws. A twelve->thirteen year old wanting to stick to their birthday plans in spite of the potential end of the world is understandable, a fourteen/fifteen->fifteen/sixteen year old insisting the same is less excusable. Show us more of the flaws that align Sadie to Isis)

This does however mean that we need to muddle around all the other pantheons’ timelines to keep things in sync. We cannot lose the scene where Percy looks at Sadie and thinks about how she looks like a hypothetical kid of his and Annabeth’s, because that’s too adorable and they deserve to tease him about it a bit. Maybe they meet partway between The Red Pyramid and The Throne Of Fire?

I shall reblog this with more thoughts in the morning.

[ambreiiigns]

PLS discuss rick's love w birdperson

GOD the call of old man yaoi innit. easy website. ok let's just go over every birdperson moment in the show to Explain the Story

we first meet birdperson in the s1 finale. morty's parents go on a trip and rick has to babysit the kids and by that i mean rick and summer throw a fuckass party and rick invites all kind of fookin creatures including birdperson (the crowd goes wild) at said party pers meets summer's best friend tammy and they. hook up and start dating. tragedy. but what also happens is we have our first hashtag emotional plot twist when it's revealed that rick's stupid fucking wubba lubba dub dub I HATE IT catchphrase is actually a normal phrase in pers' language! that very simply means "i am in great pain please help me". i have so many thoughts and prayers about rick choosing to express something so vulnerable in pers' language. (we will later see him choose to be vulnerable to/for pers so that's just a Thing. ig.) he travels the entire universe he could have easily chosen a language No One of the Few People be keeps around understands but he chose pers' language. some might say he trusts pers enough. batshit already.

anyway both the first and iirc second time we see pers morty's mad w rick and pers has his back and defends him and convinces morty to stick around which is. so polite of him. but something i Also wanna mention early on is that pers and rick met sometime in rick's idk young adulthood while he's out there killing other ricks. they meet at some kind of festival and rick's carrying like alien vape in a backpack and pers takes a hit and they pick up squanchy somewhere too (they're the Main Dudes In The Gang) they have a band. briefly. lmao. but also they're rebels fighting The Federation. rick calls it his star wars phase or smth. ok we'll get back to this era later

now. s2 finale. one of the Best Episodes. pers and tammy are getting married!!!!! [cursed emoji] and rick is SO GRUMPY abt it. he doesn't wanna go but they drag him along and once he's at the ceremony he gets so drunk he's like. almost passed out. rick is Always some level of drunk so for him to be like. going limp fnajfnjat it has to be Astronomical levels right. yet he picks himself back up enough to give a little speech proclaiming birdperson as his best friend and that he'll go along w whatever makes him happy so if pers loves tammy then rick loves tammy too!! and calls it his greatest adventure - opening himself up to others! and immediately after tammy reveals she's an undercover agent of the federation and Shoots Birdperson Dead. and rick cries out his name and goes nooooo. horrid

the federation then pieces pers back together w robot bits and sends him off to kill rick, rick knocks him out but doesn't kill him he just takes him home to fix him up as close to Before as he can but pers has sort of. put himself in a coma bc he Did care abt tammy. and not only did she betray him but now rick has also Killed her so he kinda just wants to rot and die. so. this is also one of my fave episodes. rick has to go in pers' mind and memories and convince him to basically come back to life. this is where we get their whole backstory !! as said they met at a festival and fucked around until rick joined the rebellion. it started as pers helping rick w "his stuff" and rick helping pers w "his stuff" in exchange. i'm realizing i'm making it sound like they were taking turns jerking each other off but what i mean is yea rick helps pers w the federation but pers helps rick w killing other ricks. so basially rick joins the rebellion for pers?? 🤨

culminates in blood ridge which is this big ass battle between federation and rebels and it ends WELL. they WIN. but rick talks abt blood ridge like it was a 9/11 type event so you're like WHY is he sad abt blood ridge. and then we see it. at the end of the battle rick is once again emotionally vulnerable w pers and he shares his Big Secret w him. his portal gun that can take him anywhere in any universe. he asks pers to go w him wherever he wants. i'm reminded of rick initially turning down rick prime's offer bc "it sounds lonely" and. i guess it fucking is. he wanted his best friend w him. he reveals a fundamental part of his mindset he always brings up - that there's countless versions of reality and therefore nothing matters, so pers asks him. if nothing matters why did you help me? and rick tells him. because you matter to me. pers reads this as the Fucking Love Confession That It Fucking Is, and Awkwardly Turns Rick Down As Such. fucking friendzones the fucker. he goes "our relationship,,," and rick doesn't deny nor correct him!! he just goes like OH MY GODDDD DON'T DRAG IT OUT JUST SAY NOOOO

anyway. this trip in pers' mind. rick has teamed up w a younger rick from pers' memories and after seeing blood ridge he's like ok i get why you were so bitter. it wasn't the battle that went bad. why do you wanna save pers then? and our rick goes because you love him. and memory rick goes I don't YOU love him maybe. and our rick is like yea bet are you gonna help or not. and he's so serious and focused bc this is SERIOUS. so once they finally do get to pers and rick tries to convince him to come back to life basically lmao pers is like i'm SORRY i'm not over tammy unfort we can't choose the ones we love HE SAYS THAT TO RICK'S FACE??? and in fact rick gets pissy and goes YEAH NO SHIT WHY DO YOU THINK I'M STILL IN HERE. he reveals pers has a fuckin daughter out there and pers decides to come back to take care of her he thanks rick for not giving up on him but quickly fucks off without his usual politeness bc he's a bit mad at rick anyway. fair

when we see him again in s7 he's having a hard time parenting his rebellious birddaughter but agrees to hanging out w rick and their friends and they seem chill. i hope to see him more next season i genuinely adore him so much. the only people rick is THIS weak for are like. morty obviously summer on some level and his fuckin Daughter. Y Birdperson. the only time he admits to someone that they're special is to beth and pers. not even morty gets to hear it ‼️ we also have like them kissing w tongue in the comics once and a faggy little musical number but those are just Barely canon. what Is canon is that rick is queer which is forever really funny to me. and he goes and has a one sided unrequited situationship w some bird dilf like. who's doing it like him. the you need a high iq to understand rick and morty crowd ain't ready for this

[tallochar]

☕️ also, hopes/wishlist/expectations for the next DC cinematic universe, if that's something you think about at all?

I honestly tuned out of DC fairly soon, for the longest time I was more of a Marvel girly (until Marvel burned me out and now I go but I do not emotionally invest into it anymore), and I still have to see ... ugh, so many of their movies.

I went to see the first Aquaman in 4DX (back before my back pain made it so that 4DX is not a viable option for me, first world problems I know but it bums me out that I cannot go anymore without ending up in crippling pain) but that was because it had both Jason Momoa and Temuera Morrison and I am a long time fan of both (and also Jason Momoa going around mostly shirtless and wet? Always going to watch) though I actually skipped the second one because it happened in a moment in RL last year while I wasn't paying attentions to movies AT ALL and so I managed to miss that it was coming out.

I know I should watch if not all of the old movies at least the Flashpoint one (can't remember if it's the correct name or not but I know I will at some point because the unholy squeaking sounds I made when Michael Keaton showed up in the trailer, I can't even begin to tell you).

I have yet to watch anything with Affleck!Batman in it and I kinda want to see his take on the character, but I don't have the spoons in me. I have seen 1 Superman!Cavill movie and it didn't really make me want to watch more.

I have also seen Wonder Woman 1 and from what I remember it was pretty enjoyable as long as I did not engage my brain, but when I did it had some plot holes that bugged me and some stuff that did not fully jive with me but I could not open my mouth about anything less than absolutely blindingly loving it lest I be crucified for it because it was Directed By A Woman [or that was the impression fandom gave me at the time] so I just kept my mouth shut and peaced out.

I had a blast watching the most recent Harley Queen movie, but it's not a BOP movie and it's definitely an Elseworld movie kinda deal to me because that's the only way I could watch it without screaming vengeance over their treatment of Cassandra Cain or most other non-Harley characters involved. Otherwise I would just scream and hate and rage.

I have not watched Joker yet because it strikes me as the sort of movie I need to be in a specific sort of mood to watch or it might really fuck with me in a bad way so I don't know how I feel about Joker Folies Au Deux (or the fact that it seems, from the trailer, to be painting Joker as the one exploited and manipulated into things by Harley rather than the other way around) but like, it feels like A Serious Movie That Might Hurt Me Emotionally because Joaquin Phoenix and it being definitely an Elseworld movie and also I am no, generally speaking, a big Joker fan so -- *shrug and raise hands emoji*

I deeply enjoyed the more recent Suicide Squad right until they killed Rick Flag and then I gasped in pain and wanted to beat Peacemaker's face in (I know his series is good, according to people whose tastes I trust, but HE KILLED RICK FLAG, I am NOT watching it [yet], yes I can absolutely be petty like that) so I am tentatively trusting James Gunn.

I know it's considered more of an Elseworld sort of movie, but I did really love The Batman with Robert Pattinson and I am looking forward to see what they do with a sequel to that and how they move on from how the last movie ended (here's to hoping we don't get too big of a timeskip, I would really love if they picked it up from where it left off rather than jumping ahead).

I am not sure how I feel about the "current canon" Batman movie in the works going with Damian as the Robin in it, but I am being tentatively hopeful about it, because my brain (possibly stupidly but hey I am allowed to dream until I get jossed) keeps thinking it is actually a genius idea if instead of going from Dick forward you jumpstart things by having Damian there and possibly referencing the other former Robins as Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Spoiler / Batgirl, maybe throw in Black Bat too etc. and then you can just introduce them with their own movies without having to go through things chronologically.

It is very much NOT encouraging to me that it's based upon the Morrison storyline, though, because I am a Tim fan and Morrison did their best to excise him and treat him from non-existent to pretty much an outsider.

I don't know if that's Gunn's vision or if it's just my own take on doing things, but it could be cool? Maybe? Here's hoping.

I went and took a look at the list of upcoming movies (this one) because I wasn't keeping up with it and seeing The Authority on it makes me hope a tender hope that it will not completely fucking suck and that it might actually be interesting (please please please do them all justice, I am begging here).

I am flabbergasted Keanu Reeves agreed to come back as Constantine, but I liked the first movie (which I saw before I read any comics with constantine in it) so hey, maybe it will be another interesting movie again. I do like Keanu as an actor, though he is very much an Elseworld Constantine and has nothing to do with pre-Flashpoint canon Constantine, which is the one I know.

Seeing a Nightwing movie being talked about makes me think I might be right about the upcoming Batman movie introducing Damian but also having the other former Robins in the background and that would be honestly a relief.

I'd love to see a Lobo movie doing the Main Man right but god, that would be so tricky to pull off, especially in the current socio-political climate and with the cancellation culture and everything else going on that I've seen fandom wise.

Everything else I am seeing on that list either doesn't excite me or is not really a character I know so I'll take it with a grain of salt.

Sorry if this was more rambling about past projects than upcoming ones, I tried to balance things out and hope this answers your curiosity :D

Thank you for sending in the asks!

[charlie-theidiot]

So, if you're into Hugh Jackman right now and if you're spending a bit too much time on tiktok watching edits (I'm not judging, I'm doing the same)

You've probably seen edits of this movie called Swordfish which came out in 2001.

And you've probably seen lots of edits on a particular scene depecting the test that Stan (Hugh Jackman) has to pass to prove how good of an hacker he is.

This test involve three things: a computer, a gun against his temple, and a non-consesual sexual act. (Whoever thought those three things could mix up well is a fool, but that's not the point).

You're probably asking yourself why I'm bothering you with this piece of information. Well, good question. This scene rather erotic was of course used in edits and lots of people love it, commenting on how Hugh Jackman looks in this scene. Which of course raised multiple questions from other people.

First, why are we all romanticizing a scene of evident rape?

Second, why are we all normalizing it?

And thirdly, and maybe more from me, why are we portraying male SA like this?

Today I'll try to answer those answers the best I can and from my point of view only.

First of all, two questions in one really, why are we normalizing and romanticizing this scene of blatant SA? Well, for me there's multiple reasons to it.

As a society we're too used to see male SA like something to joke about or to sexualize. Because they're men. They had to enjoy it, right? After all that's what all men always think about.

Wrong of course. Men are human like everyone else, and they of course think about other things than sex. And they can be victims of SA, even though they are not the majority of the victims. But since when as a society we decided to make fun or to hide a minority of victims? Anyway.

But there's an other reason why we romanticized this scene. It's the way it is portrayed of course.

When doing a movie, and I'm not teaching any of you anything, the way of filming and representing thing is a big part of the project.

If you watched this movie (for the plot, Hugh, or any reason really) you'll see that this scene is not portrayed as terrible. Yes, he is in a dangerous situation and there's stress put on him. But he doesn't look horrified. Lots of the shots are big plan on his face. And I don't want to write details but he doesn't seem terrified, or scared, or like he doesn't want it.

And I can see why it can lull the viewer in a false sense of security. Of course he's enjoying it. He doesn't look like anything else. Then it must be okay.

No. Wrong.

That's where we, and when I say we I'm talking about society and I include myself, that's where we are wrong. There is no excuse for what's happening and we should be horrified. But we're not. Because it is not portrayed as something horrible.

I haven't see the whole movie, this scene saying everything I had to know. Maybe it's a good movie, but I'm sure this scene is not talked again like a trauma or something horrendous. Once again, downplaying the horror of the situation.

That, for me at least, is why as a society we let ourself see this scene as something erotic. Especially with the way Hugh Jackman is portrayed as a big sex symbol (I could do a whole presentation on that too).

That leave us with my question, why are we portraying male SA like that?

Well, Jamie, that's a good question. I'll tell you why. It's because male SA is still a pretty sensitive and dirty subject for society. We're still not able of talking about female SA victims, so certainly not male victims.

And that vision is translated into our movies and TV shows. Most of the time, male SA is downplayed or acted as a joke or an erotic thing. And it's not always the producer's fault, it's also the public reaction to it. There's the 'Swordfish', but also Morty in 'Rick and Morty', Angel Dust in 'Hazbin Hotel', and in 'Hunger Games', and in 'Baby Reindeer'.

The list is long of male SA representation in the medias that are either now played seriously or not taken seriously. And maybe it's time we change our point of view on this matter.

To conclude, can we blame the people who made edits or enjoyed edits of this scene? I don't think we should. It is pointless, and the way the scene was made played a big role in it. It also shows that most people didn't really watch the movie and just wanted to make thirst traps, which is not something to condemn.

Thank you for reading this. I don't know if I make sense or if it's even a smart thing to say. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe I'm already saying something that was already said. In either case, thanks for reading and have a good life.

PS: I'm always open to hear always points of view. I'm not always right, and who knows maybe I'll learn a thing or two.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Hey there, its me again, the favorite anon (it seems weird for me to call myself that, i have to find another way to make it known its me) and i just wanted to give a simple answer, felt like i left you hanging about the art thing so sorry. I’ll try to be brief with my answer, about the whole thing that happened that day, i didn’t really get it all just came in and saw there was some weirdness going on, we all make mistakes we’re human after all so its good you apologized, i think.

I’m really invested in how Daryl and Birdie’s relationship will develop, i just knew he was gonna be the biggest helicopter parent lol, bet he’ll be the kind of dad that freaks out after the kid sneezes just once and i’m here for it, i did note that Daryl didn’t really have any suggestions even when reader commented about the name thing way back when he was sick, but didn’t really think it would come into play, i thought it was more of him being sort of insecure haha but i knew it would be Bird related, come on, Bird blanket and her dad is Always wearing a vest with wings? To me, thats cinema.

Also i forgot to comment on the last ask, but Daryl knowing all this stuff from his books but not knowing about the placenta??, its so funny to me, come on man it was too good to be true, most realistic moment for me honestly, men just operate on a different frequency i swear.

And about Lori, well i did note that Daryl joked about her on the first ep of season 3, wasn’t really malicious tho i think Daryl just kinda secretly likes to gossip, like that time he told everybody Merle had the clap for no reason lmao, the idea of Daryl secretly being a gossiper is hilarious. And more Lori? I’LL BE EATING IT UP I KNOW IT, and getting to see more of her and Rick?? Might as well be christmas for me, i’m curious to know what advice she has, i’ll be waiting eagerly for the moment where she just goes ‘’Y/N can you watch Carl for me?’’ that’ll be the moment we know their relationship has peaked. Alright i’m just joking, i love her so much in this fic.

Carol is the gift that keeps on giving, i love how she immediately knew she had to save birdie from these fools, poor kid doesn’t deserve to suffer with a messed up diaper on her first day on this Earth, i’m guessing she’ll be Birdie’s Godmother, if that’s a thing to them anyway, i have a feeling her bond with Birdie will also be very special and just motivate her to be even more of a badass.

Alright about the art, its totally fine, you know its out there sorta like a message in a bottle, it now belongs to the world not me haha i want to keep practicing with these characters when i have more time, this one was made on a tight schedule but who knows, i’m already thinking of what else to make plotting like a supervillain in my lair, but for now i only have a few hours, if you want to post that one its totally cool with me.

Thanks for being so sweet, i hope you are taking care of yourself and taking your time to write, its very important, and yeaaaah 600 words thats me being ‘’brief’’ somebody needs to take this keyboard away from me.

Bye bye <3

My favorite Anon! You just let me know what you want me to call you and I will! 🩵

Don't worry about not answering right away on the art. I just wanted to make sure it was okay before I showed it off. :) I was worried all that shit had chased you off. I felt/feel horrible about it but it's done and in the past now. I'm sorry if it affected you in any way.

I have just started chapter 31 and bless these two. A newborn on the road is really going to test everyone. He's going to be talking about the name a little in this and why he chose it.

Bless him, he didn't get that far in the books. He kept telling her he hadn't had time to read and how he felt bad about it. He really wanted to know everything but when it came down to reading or providing/protecting or reading, he of course chose the first. I just could not have him being like what?! when she pushed it out.

Daryl being a gossiper! LOL YES.

Reader is definitely going to need help. Lori will play a pivotal role, along with Carol, of course. I want there to be a real bond with Lori, something that will tie reader to Carl and Judith after that day. Daryl loves Judith, we already know that but I want there to be this real bond with reader and the kids.

I still have a while to explore before we even get to the prison, so buckle up! :)

Thank you for always sending these. They seriously make me smile! 🩵🩵🩵